Album Review

The reactionary days of "you kids are killing us with your downloading!" and big FBI anti-piracy warnings on the back of every major-label offering don't warrant a collection this quirky-cool and risky. The idea of remixing the Isley Brothers is hardly the stunning part; it's the excellent and tasteful selection of remixers on Taken to the Next Phase, an unnecessary but incredibly fun reworking of the Isley Brothers' deepest moments. None of the producers here mishandle the Isleys, but they aren't afraid to attack these tracks with an unexpected attitude either. Reggae hitmaker Steven "Lenky" Marsden's hectic dancehall reworking of "Between the Sheets" is a huge surprise and works wonderfully. Deep house man Gabriel Rene makes "Footsteps in the Dark" a deeper delicious with loopy touches and De La Soul sound like it's the Daisy Age once again on "It's a New Thing" (their update of "It's Your Thing"). The great big killer is saved for last with Mos Def turning "Groove With You" into the title-says-it-all "Beauty in the Dark." The rap world has mined the Isleys' back catalog for their own use plenty of times, and this payback shows how much these artists appreciated it. A remix collection you don't have to make excuses about; that's rare. A throwback that's as funky as the original; that's incredible. [A Japanese version added a bonus disc.]

Customer Reviews

Greatest Inspiration

by
Bang2000xl

this cd is a fantastic display of musicical greatness!!! the Mos Def traxz is 1 of the best songs on the album!!!
-Bang

The Remix is Cool

by
FlipOverMusic

Tonight is the Night was Remixed by Sade's Band SWEETBACK and is the best song on the the CD.

Not As Good As It Was

by
Califrose

The original recordings of days of old were much, much better than the remixes in this cd. I would not recommend this cd if you are a music fanatic as I am. One song in particular is the song "Tonight Is The Night (If I Had You), which can be found on the album Grand Slam released in 1981 by CBS Inc., which by the way is not offered in iTunes. This song is ruined in the remix version in this cd. It does not even sound like the original. Some things are better left alone. The Isley's have always had it going on and to try to redo their music, well..let's just say "How Can It Get Any Better Than What It Was?", It can't and it doesn't on this cd. Nothing but the truth spoken here. /Califrose

Biography

Formed: 1954 in Cincinnati, OH

Genre: R&B/Soul

Years Active: '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s

First formed in the early '50s, the Isley Brothers enjoyed one of the longest, most influential, and most diverse careers in the pantheon of popular music — over the course of nearly a half century of performing, the group's distinguished history spanned not only two generations of Isley siblings but also massive cultural shifts which heralded their music's transformation from gritty R&B to Motown soul to blistering funk. The first generation of Isley siblings was born and raised in Cincinnati,...